On the row

Students of Ahilyadevi High School for Girls try their hand at indoor rowing

Until two months back, little did Yash Dhumal, 17, know that he could row like a champion. He was not rowing a boat on a river or a lake, as one would expect when he discovered his talent for the sport.

The teenager was among the 70 to 80 students from DY Patil Arts Commerce and Science College who had competed in the prelims of the ‘Asian School Indoor Rowing Championship’, which was held at the institution late last year.

Dhumal had never been on a boat, let alone on an indoor rower, a machine used to simulate the action of rowing. The Maharashtra Rowing Association (MRA), to support the Asian School Indoor Rowing Championship, an indoor rowing competition founded by Bengal Water Sports (BWS), had provided five indoor rowers, also known as the ergometer, to DY Patil Arts Commerce and Science College. Dhumal, who slid back and forth on the machine, much like a skilled oarsman, surpassed every other participant. He clocked the fastest time (97 seconds) in the 400-metre category.

Kolkata-based rowing champion, Shakil Ahmed, the founder of BWS, had conceived the championship to spot rowing talent and train them for international boating events. The championship’s Pune prelims took place in October and November last year. As many as 12,000 students from 11 city schools, which included Kendriya Vidyalaya, DY Patil School, Eknathrao Khese Vidyalaya and SNDT Kanyashala, attempted the activity for the first time during the prelims. “The rowing event was open to both boys and girls in three age groups — under-12, under-15 and under-18,” informs Ahmed. The top performers will next compete in the Maharashtra state finals, to be held later this month, the venue for which will most likely be the Royal Connaught Boat Club in the city.

Sixty top performers from the state finals (30 girls and 30 boys), will subsequently compete in the grand finale at a stadium in Kolkata next month. “Indoor rowing is a popular sport in Western countries, but it is yet to catch on in India. You can use the indoor rower to train for rowing on water,” says Ahmed. Most modern indoor rowers today come with a digital interface. When Dhumal used the machine for the first time, he intuitively understood how it worked. Dhumal, who enjoys playing sports like football and cricket, had always wondered what rowing would be like. “I never had the opportunity to try the sport before I competed in the championship,” he says and adds, “I had no clue that I have the potential to excel at rowing.” After coming first in the under-18 category of the prelims, he has gained enough confidence to pursue the sport. “I have decided to become a professional oarsman,” states the teenager. Shraddha Kolambade, 12, a student at SNDT Kanyashala, who stood fourth in the prelims, says, “I enjoyed rowing on the ergometer and I am looking forward to competing in the upcoming state finals.”

Jyoti Sajgure, who is the physical and health education teacher at Kendriya Vidyalaya, was as excited as her students to witness the indoor rowing meet at the school. Nearly 300 of them took part there. “The students were all naturally enthusiastic because they were trying the sport for the first time,” recalls Sajgure, who is hopeful that some of the contestants from the institution will do well in the state finals. Ahmed was overwhelmed to observe the positive response garnered by the event in Pune. Every student was given a medal and a certificate of participation.

The coach of the national women’s kabaddi team, Kavita Alhat, who is also the physical education instructor at DY Patil Public School, had encouraged her students to take part in the prelims. “It was absolutely important for indoor rowing to be introduced to students. The machine provides a full-body workout and develops rowing skills,” says Alhat. What surprised Alhat was that even students who were not interested in sports warmed up to the activity. “I am confident that the initiative will play an important role in grooming young rowers in the country, and indoor rowing is surely going to become a popular activity in the city,” adds Alhat.

BWS has been instrumental in organising several rowing events in West Bengal, but Ahmed’s dream is to introduce the marginal sport across India. “Our goal is to promote rowing and raise awareness about the sport among youngsters,” says Ahmed.

The Asian School Indoor Rowing Championship is by far the most ambitious event ever devised by BWS. The event was officially launched three months ago at the Calcutta Rowing Club. Over 75,000 students from 100 schools in West Bengal, and students from other states — Assam, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir — had participated in the meet. The event is being organised at schools in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal as well.

MRA’s secretary, Sanjay Valvi, was delighted to back Ahmed’s initiative. “India has struggled to produce Olympic-level rowers, because we have failed to tap young talent. This championship, however, could well be the answer to discover and groom champion rowers,” says Valvi, who also believes that the sport must be promoted.

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